RAILROAD MANPOWER ADJUSTMENTS TO TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE THROUGH COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: CREW CONSIST ON THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD

Industries adjust work-force size to technological change and economic changes, but the number of brakemen on railroad crews is inflexibly fixed by labor agreements. In the 1959 crew consist dispute the railroads claimed authority over crew size, the issue remaining unresolved in 1977 despite years of negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and government factfinding. Government-imposed arbitration authorized crew reductions in 1964-5 but granted the current employees job protection, whereupon some railroads offered severance pay. Railroad wages are negotiated industry-wide, but in 1966 a court ruled that crew agreements be on individual railroads, enabling union bargaining power to gain its goal of two brakemen per crew. This dissertation emphasizes a case study of the Illinois Central Railroad, the union's most aggressive opponent.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Doctoral thesis. Prepared in cooperation with United Transportation Union, Cleveland, Ohio., and Association of American Railroads, Washington, D.C.
• Corporate Authors:

  Cornell University

  New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations
  Ithaca, NY  United States  14850

  United Transportation Union

  14600 Detroit Avenue
  Cleveland, OH  United States  44107

  Association of American Railroads

  50 F Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001-1564

  Manpower Administration

  Office of Research and Development
  Washington, DC  United States 
• Authors:
  • McCabe, D M
• Publication Date: 1977-5-30

Media Info

• Pagination: 718 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automation; Brakemen; Collective bargaining; Deployment; Job analysis; Labor agreements; Labor relations; Labor unions; Personnel; Personnel management; Policy; Productivity; Railroads; Specifications; Strikes; Technological innovations; Theses; Unemployment; Work rules
• Identifier Terms: Illinois Central Gulf Railroad
• Uncontrolled Terms: Requirement
• Old TRIS Terms: Government policies
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Policy; Railroads; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00174631
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: DLMA-91-36-76-04-1 Final Rpt.
• Contract Numbers: DL-91-36-76-04
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 14 1978 12:00AM